Boom!!!
Tyranitar crossed both arms and took Arcanine's combined attack head-on.
However, Tyranitar showed no sign of having suffered any damage at all. It merely stepped back three or four paces, shook its arms, and stood there as if nothing had happened.
Seeing this scene, not only was Tomas stunned, but even the surrounding spectators were completely frozen.
Although quite a few videos of Cain's battles were already circulating on the internet, to be honest, this was the first time Cain had so clearly demonstrated Tyranitar's defensive capability in front of the public.
In previous large-scale battles, Tyranitar usually played the role of the team's core, staying in the rear. It rarely charged to the front; in those situations, it was usually Aggron who took the lead.
Although Tyranitar's defense was not as high as Aggron's, in reality it was not far behind at all.
Both Pokémon had "grown up eating diamonds," so it was easy to imagine just how much energy and how many trace elements they had absorbed from them.
Later on, they had even begun feeding on powdered pink diamonds from Diancie. In the entire world, how many Pokémon could afford such a luxury?
That was why, while everyone else stood dumbfounded at Tyranitar's defense, Cain felt no surprise at all—this was exactly the level of defense Tyranitar should have!
As Tyranitar stepped back, Arcanine was also knocked to the ground by the rebound force of the collision.
"We've already seen the opponent's level. It's our turn to counterattack, Tyranitar. Earthquake!" Cain ordered, looking at the equally shocked Arcanine.
Tyranitar slammed its tail heavily against the ground, and with a deafening roar, a violent earthquake spread outward from its position.
The entire ground began to crack to varying degrees; massive rocks rolled beneath the surface, leaving the terrain completely uneven.
Arcanine, clearly familiar with the move Earthquake, forcefully pushed off with its four legs and leapt lightly into the air. Its excellent ability to stay airborne allowed it to avoid most of the damage.
However, by doing so, it fell straight into Cain's trap.
After all, while in midair and without any point of support, how was it supposed to evade the next attack?
Precipice Blades!
Ruuuum!
From one of the cracks in the ground, a gigantic column of blazing rock shot up toward the sky, aiming directly at the airborne Arcanine.
By the time Arcanine reacted, it was already too late to dodge.
This was precisely the kind of situation against Tyranitar where, even knowing what was coming, the opponent had no alternative.
Should Arcanine have taken Earthquake head-on?
Ground-type moves dealt enormous damage to Fire-type Pokémon.
And if it truly chose to do that, Tyranitar would have been more than happy to keep using Earthquake without pause.
Given Arcanine's capabilities, there were only two ways to avoid Earthquake: immediately escape the move's range or jump into the air.
So from the very moment it lunged toward Tyranitar, this was already an unavoidable dead end.
Boom!
Precipice Blades struck successfully, and the explosion blasted Arcanine even higher, leaving it completely out of control.
From then on, everything was simple: Stone Edge, Rock Slide, and Precipice Blades were chained one after another. An Arcanine without specialized training was incapable of dodging such an onslaught.
Boom—boom—boom!
After a succession of attacks, Arcanine crashed to the ground and lost its ability to fight.
Including Tomas, everyone present had trouble believing it. That Arcanine, which moments earlier had looked imposing and capable of facing Tyranitar head-on, had been defeated so directly.
"!!!TYYRRANNN!!!"
After securing victory, Tyranitar roared enthusiastically toward the sky. From Cain's perspective, he could clearly see that Tyranitar's level had increased once again. To everyone else, it simply looked as though, after defeating Arcanine, its aura had become even fiercer and more dominant.
After returning Arcanine to its Poké Ball, Tomas still had not fully processed what had happened.
He knew that Cain was very strong. The Black Messenger had been the commander of the Second Legion, and his strength far surpassed Tomas's own. That Cain had defeated the Black Messenger clearly showed that he stood above him.
Even so, Tomas had thought that even if he were to lose, he would at least be able to put Cain in a difficult spot. He had that confidence.
But reality unfolded mercilessly before his eyes, forcing him to accept it.
Cain did not immediately withdraw Tyranitar, waiting to see if Tomas would send out another Pokémon. However, what he saw instead was Tomas walking over with a bitter smile.
Understanding his intention, Cain also recalled Tyranitar.
"The strength of Elite Four Cain has convinced me. There's no need to continue—I concede," Tomas said.
"Thank you, Commander Tomas," Cain replied.
With that, Cain prepared to leave, but Tomas took another step forward and, in a tone that only the two of them could hear, added, "Elite Four Cain, you should be careful of the commander of the Second Legion."
Hearing those words, Cain raised his eyebrows slightly, showing a trace of surprise.
It seemed that even though the League's major legions appeared united, wherever there were people, competition inevitably existed.
Cain nodded, indicating that he understood.
Seeing that Cain had taken the warning to heart, Tomas left with satisfaction.
Without a doubt, the video of the battle between him and Cain would go viral on the internet within minutes. His stance had been made clear.
And by giving Cain a warning, he had not worsened his relationship with him either.
One could say that Tomas was truly skilled at dealing with people: he showed goodwill toward both the League's legions and Cain, who represented the League's public opinion.
Although his strength was not outstanding, his social skills were genuinely impressive.
As for the Second Legion, Cain had some knowledge of it.
The Black Messenger had been its former commander, deeply loved by its members. Moreover, it was said that his second-in-command and many officers had been directly promoted by him.
After his case came to light, in order to quickly stabilize the Second Legion, the League did not remove all those officers. After investigating and confirming that there were no issues with their identities, they kept them in their posts, and the current commander was the former deputy commander, serving in a provisional capacity.
It was only natural that he harbored strong resentment toward Cain for having defeated his former commander.
Although the Black Messenger indeed had serious problems, it was not so easy for them to simply let go of him.
And to make matters worse, during that period, one of the League legions stationed inside Mt. Silver was precisely the Second Legion—it just so happened to be their turn.
Thus, Tomas was truly an expert at staying neutral: he offended neither side, while at the same time making his stance clear to both.
In any case, Cain did not pay much attention to the Second Legion.
After all, he had already defeated the Black Messenger back when he was still commander, and now his strength had increased considerably.
At this moment, Cain possessed at least Darkrai and Gengar, two Champion-level Pokémon. Tyranitar had also reached the Quasi-Champion level and, with Mega Evolution, could possess Champion-level strength.
If they really dared to come looking for trouble, then he would make them understand the difference in power.
(End of chapter)